Shinshu Mars Whisky

About Shinshu Mars

Shinshu Mars is Japan's highest-altitude whisky distillery, run by Hombo Shuzo in the mountainous Nagano region. For a newcomer, it's a fresh, clean, subtly alpine character; for the connoisseur, the distillery's history of dormancy from 1992 to 2011 is part of what makes its newer releases interesting - a distillery given a rare chance to reinvent itself in the middle of the Japanese whisky boom.

History & Background

The Shinshu Mars distillery in Nagano Prefecture was founded in 1985 by Hombo Shuzo, a company better known for shochu and plum wine, but had to halt whisky production in 1992 during the Japanese whisky downturn. The distillery restarted in 2011, helped by its location high in the Japanese Alps, where the cold climate and pure meltwater give a slow, characterful maturation.

Production & Style

The high altitude gives a cold, stable climate that shapes maturation with a slower, more rounded process.

Signature Style

Fresh, Fruity, Elegant
The whisky offers a fresh, fruity character with an elegant finish.

Facts

Did You Know?

Shinshu Mars sits at around 798 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest-altitude whisky distilleries in the world, with markedly colder maturation conditions than most other Japanese distillers.

Like Shinshu Mars Whisky? You should also try:

Nikka, Chichibu and Suntory.